Let's be clear about two things. The title for this was taken from a tweet by Reese Shirey, who is a former member of the University of Alabama swim team. And 'everybody' does not include the great majority of Alabama fans who are Nate Oats fans. Include me in that group.
It is widely believed that North Carolina will soon need a new coach. As with almost every top opening in the last three years, Nate Oats is one of the favorites to get an offer.
Nate Oats is a lightning rod for frequent negative attention. Most of it is unwarranted. Some of it he brings on himself. Other recent tweets about Oats include "he runs a crooked program", "the insufferable Naye Oats", "a guy who lives in the very gray area of ethics", "most unlikable figure in this tournament", "UNC is too classy for NateOats. Have you seen the police blotter of his teams lately?"
Outside of the Crimson Tide nation, Nate Oats is a coach others love to hate. One of the main reasons comes from the abundance of shoddy reporting done about the shooting tragedy that killed Jamea Harris. Ten months ago, Michael Lynn Davis was sentenced to life in prison for shooting Harris. Former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles remains incarcerated, charged with aiding and abetting Davis. Brandon Miller, who was asked to bring Miles his gun (which Miles gave to Harris), cooperated with police and was never charged with any crime.
The national vilification of Nate Oats
In the court of public opinion, Miller and Nate Oats were vilified. Some reporters from Alabama and other national sources shaped their stories like the seediest of 'reality' TV shows. Ryan Phillips of Tuscaloosa Patch was an exception, for whom real facts were enough.
Fast forward to the mess Aden Holloway has put himself in. Many college students smoke pot. Making that a crime is one of many failures of the American War on Drugs. Unlike Holloway, very few users ever possess 2.1 pounds. Holloway indeed broke a law, and it was incredibly stupid how he did so. What price Holloway will pay is unknown. Prosecutors will claim Holloway was selling. That too is unproven.
If Holloway is only found guilty of possession, Nate Oats might welcome him back next season. Charles Barkley has argued for that result.
Oats' detractors will claim that if he allows Holloway to return, Nate's motivation will be 100% self-serving. Oats' recent comments about Holloway indicated the opposite: a coach concerned about the future of a young man." You get into it (coaching) to help impact young men's lives. Well, if you disappear when they make a mistake, I'm not so sure that's a genuine relationship you've built. ...I've got three daughters. They've made mistakes. You don't disappear on them when they need your help. I won't be disappearing on him. I talked to him yesterday morning on the phone. I talked to him the night before that. I've talked to him every day so far. I'm going to continue to talk to him, love him, help him through this, and we'll see where it all takes us."
In my opinion, those who quit hating Nate Oats when their team needs a coach don't deserve him.